"The Grass is Singing," Doris Lessing

Picked this up after reading about it on "Eve's Alexandria" and read it all in an afternoon, which is the best recommendation any book can have. A wonderful exploration of boredom, frustration, societal pressure, and emotional cruelty, although it's not a "man and woman overcome cultural boundaries and make sweet love until Society ends it" sort of book - the interracial relationship really only develops in the last part of the book and is basically the logical end to a series of choices on the part of a woman who ends up with very few choices to make.

Which might be disappointing if you picked up the book based on a cover like this.

"Ripley's Game," Patricia Highsmith

Not quite as engaging as "Talented Mr. Ripley," mostly because Ripley himself has evolved into a sort of god figure who is busy playing with the life of Jonathan Trevanny, the individual who finds himself in the "talented" slot that Ripley occupied in the first book. An ingenious setup that drags out a bit by the end - because of Trevanny's circumstances, it's pretty clear what's going to happen to him, so the attraction lies in Highsmith's ability to evoke emotional atmosphere (which she does very well, though).

I accidentally skipped the second book in the series, although these aren't the kind of books that you have to read in order after you finish the first one. So back to "Ripley Underground," then onward to "The Boy Who Followed Ripley."

"A Magnificent Catastrophe: The Tumultuous Election of 1800, America's First Presidential Campaign," Edward J. Larson

There are a lot of American history nonfiction books sitting round the house, as we like nonfiction here (also the Costco book racks). Back in the days of yore, there was no direct presidential voting; instead, states chose electors through various methods, and whoever got the most electors won the prize. Because of a lack of party organization - as American political parties were just being born - two candidates from the same party ended up tying, and finally, after much machination, Thomas Jefferson became third President of the United States.

Larson chooses to emphasize conflicts and problems that echo our own, and it seems like there are certain truths to any successful American presidential campaign, no matter when it's held (don't split your party, organization is key, being an atheist is not a good thing). Because the narrative focuses mostly on the election itself, some of the fun parts of American history are left to hang in the misty future - I was disappointed that I didn't get to read more about Burr shooting Hamilton, for example.

"Throne of Jade," Naomi Novik

The second of Naomi Novik's Temeraire novels. The Chinese government, furious over a mere captain commanding a rare breed of dragon, demands the return of Temeraire. Of course, his rider Captain Lawrence, comes along, and of course, adventures are had, before everything comes out all right in the end. Novik's concept of dragon "culture" (since I can't think of another way to put it right now) is pleasantly complicanted, in that there are different ways that different human cultures interact with dragons, and also in that her dragon protagonist, Temeraire, demands a different relationship with his rider after observing how dragons are treated in China. Temeraire is not just a source of endless reassurance for his captain, which puts "Throne of Jade" a cut above most fantasy novels.

Unfortunately, soon after finishing the book, I had a conversation with an acquaintance in which she revealed that the stories were based on "Master and Commander" fanfiction and the dragon is supposed to be the guy who wasn't Russell Crowe in the movie.

DWAGGINS.